Mass Effect 2 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Chief Scout: At the location marked Chief Scout on the map the game provides for you, you'll find -- huge surprise -- the Chief Scout of Krogan defenses here at this particular location. The gun turret he's manning (and the empty one next to him) are used to kill rodents, namely monkey-like creatures called Pyjaks. Indeed, if you spoke with Ratch back at Ratch's Wares and agreed to help him with his Pyjak infestation problem, you'll need to use the gun turret here to complete the side quest he gives you, one called Tuchanka: Killing Pyjaks (more information on that can be found in the Side Quests section of this guide). Otherwise, you can speak with the Chief Scout about his job, what he does around these parts, and the general state of disarray on Tuchanka, including the fact that there's a lot of inter-clan fighting between Krogans. When you're done speaking with him, you can move on. (The scout here is also associated with a side quest called Tuchanka: Old Blood: Missing Scout... remember that for later.)

Just north of the Chief Scout, you'll find a rare sight indeed. A Krogan mechanic is working on one of their vehicles, and though he has his back turned towards you, you can still speak with him and engage him in conversation. This is one gruff, sarcastic and entirely unpleasant Krogan (well, they all seem to be that way, actually). He'll talk to you a bit about how he's working on a vehicle that his fellow Krogan messed up on one of their expeditions. Specifically, a combustion manifold has been lost, and the vehicle he's working on won't function without one. If you want to help him out, agree to do so. This will unlock the side quest called Tuchanka: Combustion Manifold. More information on it can be found in the Side Quests section of the guide.

Med-Lab: You can visit the Med-Lab for multiple reasons, but primarily, you'll want to go there in order to speak with another rarity, a Krogan scientist. This guy's name is Fortack, and he means business. While he is indeed an ingenious Krogan scientist, he also has a one-track mind. Fortack is all about making weapons, bombs and the like for his Krogan friends to use. And he makes it pretty clear that he wants his weapons to be used, not just created. Once you finish that rather disturbing conversation, you're free to explore the rest of his medical facility. You can find a kiosk, which will allow you to browse Fortack's items for sale. You can even find a Pyjak in the corner that you can punch into oblivion. Go ahead, give it a try!

As you head away from the Med-Lab so you can explore the eastern section of the map, you'll likely come into a makeshift pit in the ground, with a computer terminal directly in front of it. This is a little optional aside. If you're feeling lucky, you can place bets here on randomized Varren fights-to-the-death. We bet four times and lost all four times, so it's unclear whether or not this is entirely fixed, randomized, or just very much against you, but nonetheless, you may want to visit this location to see what it's all about, if you're feeling up to it that is.

Shaman: At the location marked "Shaman" on your map, you'll find two characters of interest, though neither will have anything to say to you for the time being. You'll still want to keep this location in mind, as it will come in handy in future endeavors. You'll find a Shaman, a Krogan holy man, who won't speak with you at all. And then you'll find a Krogan named Nathorth. He won't have much of anything to say to you either, though he has a fairly important role, as he is the intermediary between this clan and a female clan that deals with the Krogans surrounding you. Interesting way the Krogans have their society setup on this inhospitable world, no doubt.